Season 15 of The Real Housewives of Atlanta has been nothing short of chaotic. We’ve followed the ladies on an ill-fated trip to Birmingham, Alabama, to an escape room that barely got completed, and even to a Candiace Dillard Bassett concert. But this season, Marlo Hampton and Kandi Burruss’ feud has taken the driver’s seat for most of the drama.
Marlo has been relentlessly coming for Kandi over her lack of support in the aftermath of her nephew’s shooting death years ago. It’s been the opposite of lighthearted, and watching the ladies spin their wheels on such a dark storyline is frustrating. The feud has divided the cast, and although Shereé Whitfield tried to plan a “Gucci Brunch” to get the girls back on the same page, this circle of friends is simply not on a positive path.
This week, we took a much-needed break from talking about dead nephews, and for a moment, it felt like the RHOA that we have all come to love. With Drew Sidora forging ahead with her music career, Marlo trying to date, and Shereé attempting to squash her one-sided beef with Kandi, we successfully made it through an entire episode without discussing death. That’s something to celebrate.
Sister, Sister
Does anyone else feel like Drew is having a great season so far? Her previous seasons’ storylines were so centered around Ralph Pittman’s gaslighting and her bumpy introduction into the RHOA circle. We know there’s still some major Ralph drama down the road for Drew, but we’re learning a lot more about her this season by exploring who she is as a person outside of just her marriage.
At the beginning of the season, Drew discussed feeling a calling to return to music. Ralph produced a track for her called You Already Know, and Drew has been hard at work preparing to shoot a music video for it.
Before the video shoot, we learned about Drew’s strained relationship with her sister, Allison. Apparently, Allison worked as Drew’s manager pretty much her entire life. She’s like a momager, but a sister. Do they call that a sisterger?
Either way, we learned that the pandemic complicated things in Drew’s career. And Allison needed to take time away from work to focus on her mental health. Then, when Allison accused Ralph of being manipulative, he banned her from coming to their house. Yes, he banned her sister who managed her career for decades from coming to her house. It’s wild.
Even without Ralph’s influence, Drew and Allison spent so much of their lives focused on a business relationship that they never forged a traditional sisterly bond. With Ralph banishing Allison from their home, the vibe was officially ruined.
Ralph has lifted the ban, and in this episode, the couple prepared for Allison to visit them in Atlanta. Although Ralph is allowing her to come over, he seemed ready to go hide in his bedroom like a little teenager during a family gathering. The subsequent episodes should show us how their dynamic ultimately unfolds.
Squash That Beef: Kandi and Shereé
Shereé held her Gucci Brunch in the last episode to give the ladies a platform to settle their outstanding problems. But, Shereé one hundred percent failed to address her beef with Kandi. So, she invited Kandi to have a one-on-one moment this week.
It’s a relief to see Shereé finally attempt to sit down with Kandi and talk through her issues because Shereé has been throwing dig after dig in the confessional interviews. Meanwhile, Kandi had no idea that Shereé had been harboring resentment over how Kandi roasted the She by Shereé launch on social media.
In Kandi’s defense, we were all online roasting She by Shereé. But Shereé took it personally when Kandi mocked her in a spoof video and kept making jokes about the brand. Shereé felt like Kandi switched up on her after the Season 14 reunion and before Season 15 started filming.
Kandi and Shereé arrived at their meet-up, and it was giving every bit of classic Atlanta Housewives that we’ve been craving this season. Shereé came in a mink coat and high heels, for crying out loud. There was no screaming about dead relatives. Kandi’s voice didn’t start to shake. No one got threatened with a headbutt. It was just petty drama. The rest of the Housewives need to take notes from these vets — this is how you clock in and deliver a scene without going off the rails.
Shereé questioned Kandi’s support of the She by Shereé launch and asked, “Did you buy anything?” Kandi replied, “Did you ever put anything on sale?”
After a few minutes of hilarious bickering about She by Shereé, She by Shein, or whatever you want to call it, Kandi and Shereé ultimately resolved the lingering issue. Kandi acknowledged that she upset Shereé, and they planned to move on from it. They made it look so easy.
Drew’s Music Video Shoot
Drew had been preparing to shoot her music video for You Already Know over the last couple of episodes. This week, we finally saw it all come together. She recruited the RHOA ladies to come to be a part of it. Drew’s mom, sister, and “cousin” Courtney Rhodes also came out to support her.
We already know that Drew has broken both of her Achilles tendons. She also doesn’t know how to skate. Yet, for some reason, she and the music video director felt strongly about incorporating a skating scene into this video. Kenya Moore called it a low-budget version of Beyonce’s music video for Blow. Kenya had like 10 seconds of screen time in this episode, yet still delivered one of the funniest lines with that read.
Although the ladies were a little shady towards the skating rink scene, the music video turned out really cute. And You Already Know is honestly a bop. If only she didn’t have Ralph standing next to her on the track’s cover art, it would be a 10 out of 10.
A date night with Marlo Hampton
Marlo’s team set her up on a blind date, and we followed her this week as she embarked on the big date. Marlo mentioned that she’s excited to date because it’s been over four years since she’s gotten any action. She also complained about how her castmates are always shading her romantic life and making it seem like she only dates white billionaires for their money. So, it seemed like Marlo was excited for the cameras to follow her on this blind date because if it didn’t happen on camera, did it even happen?
On the way to the date, Marlo FaceTimed Sanya Richards-Ross, who had spent the day with Drew at the video shoot. Marlo seemed a little frustrated that Sanya had seemingly crossed enemy lines and then had the bright idea to call Drew and tell her about the upcoming blind date.
Drew answered the phone but seemed super confused about why Marlo was calling her, pretending to be all nice, as if they didn’t have a horrible argument earlier in the season with no resolution. Did Marlo forget about that?
When Drew questioned the motives, Marlo quickly hung up on her, flipped the switch, and went on a horrible rant about Drew. Nothing prepares you for a lovely date like body shaming your castmate and calling them a “deranged wannabe actress.”
It is always fascinating how Marlo can flip between being sweet as a peach one second and then a Bitter Betty the next. But, once she arrived at the date, she put her happy face back on and was ready to be wooed.
The blind date was a tall, dark, and handsome restauranter. So, they’re not just going to eat at a restaurant — they’re eating at his restaurant. That’s fancy, and we know Marlo likes fancy.
Her team thought he’d be a good match because he’s opinionated and can keep her well-fed. Most importantly, they’re both ex-cons and Marlo was thrilled to have that in common — especially considering how much flack she takes in the group for having a criminal record.
After seeing Marlo spend so much time in a dark place this season, it was cute seeing her let her hair down on this blind date. We’ve never experienced Marlo like this on the show, but this is what we want to see from her as a full-time cast member. We need more of this and less of the darkness and dramatics.
Real Housewives of Atlanta continues Sundays at 8/7c on Bravo.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK SHEREÉ AND KANDI’S TRUCE WILL LAST? WHAT DID YOU THINK OF MARLO’S BLIND DATE? ARE YOU A FAN OF DREW’S NEW MUSIC VIDEO?
